From sustag@beta.tricity.wsu.eduMon Apr 10 12:27:58 1995
Date: Sat, 8 Apr 1995 19:31:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)"
To: Principles of Sustainable Agriculture
Subject: Re: Linguistics (fwd)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 8 Apr 1995 17:12:07 CST
From: Greg McIsaac
To: sustag@beta.tricity.wsu.edu
Cc: Bruce Gregory
Subject: Re: Linguistics
On the issue of foodsheds, food circles and food webs,
Bruce Gregory wrote:
>
> A better alternative word has been buzzing through my mind of late, most
> often as another description on the "foodshed" idea. How about "foodnet"?
> The growing, transportation on the local, interstate or international scale
> all depend upon a system of networks, (such as the media we are using now. .
> .) Networks of natural systems, human made systems, you get the idea.
>
I think "foodnet" would be preferrable to "foodshed" because it
avoids some international confusions relating to the use of the term
"watershed." But I don't think "foodnet" is any better than "food web" or
"food system." Unless there is a new concept that can best be
distinguished by a new term, I don't see the need for inventing new
terms to describe old ideas. As far as I can tell, the concepts discussed
under the terms "foodshed" or "food circle" can just as easily be discussed
using the old terms like food web, food system or food network, while
applying the adjectives "local," "regional" or "global" where appropriate.
Gregory McIsaac
From sustag@beta.tricity.wsu.eduMon Apr 10 12:53:58 1995
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 1995 18:46:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)"
To: Principles of Sustainable Agriculture
Subject: Local Food production (fwd)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 03 Apr 1995 13:30:56 WST
From: Warwick Rowell
To: Tom Hodges
Subject: Local Food production
I will be interested to see the thinking on "foodsheds".
Perhaps the idea was first explored in any detail by Jane Jacobs
in her seminal book "Cities and the Wealth of Nations". Although
she was talking about much more than food, as well. Foodsheds may be
another name for bioregions? Certainly the focus of populations into
communities would have started with basic foods, as much as scarce
foods, such as salt, led to inter-regional trading, and commerce as
such.
One of Permaculture's major tenets is that local production and
use and recycling of all sorts of resources is a systematic way of
building and maintaining a viable and durable culture. We focus on
home and neighbourhood production, and then direct links to producers
of other needs, such as grains.
The "extension" aspect of Permaculture is focused around lifestyle
and other changes at a more systematic level than just food. This
holistic approach diffuses slowly but there is apparently not nearly
as much "fad fadeout" as you see sometimes with narrower approaches.
Has anyone done/seen any work on the diffusion of lifetstyles?
__________________________________________________________
| warwick.rowell@eepo.com.au |
| |
| Management Consultant Permaculture Designer |
|_"Helping Managers Learn"___"Helping Land Managers Learn"_|
From sustag@beta.tricity.wsu.eduMon Apr 10 12:55:23 1995
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 1995 18:46:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)"
To: Principles of Sustainable Agriculture
Subject: Local Food production (fwd)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 03 Apr 1995 13:30:56 WST
From: Warwick Rowell
To: Tom Hodges
Subject: Local Food production
I will be interested to see the thinking on "foodsheds".
Perhaps the idea was first explored in any detail by Jane Jacobs
in her seminal book "Cities and the Wealth of Nations". Although
she was talking about much more than food, as well. Foodsheds may be
another name for bioregions? Certainly the focus of populations into
communities would have started with basic foods, as much as scarce
foods, such as salt, led to inter-regional trading, and commerce as
such.
One of Permaculture's major tenets is that local production and
use and recycling of all sorts of resources is a systematic way of
building and maintaining a viable and durable culture. We focus on
home and neighbourhood production, and then direct links to producers
of other needs, such as grains.
The "extension" aspect of Permaculture is focused around lifestyle
and other changes at a more systematic level than just food. This
holistic approach diffuses slowly but there is apparently not nearly
as much "fad fadeout" as you see sometimes with narrower approaches.
Has anyone done/seen any work on the diffusion of lifetstyles?
__________________________________________________________
| warwick.rowell@eepo.com.au |
| |
| Management Consultant Permaculture Designer |
|_"Helping Managers Learn"___"Helping Land Managers Learn"_|
From sustag@beta.tricity.wsu.eduMon Apr 10 12:56:54 1995
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 07:30:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)"
To: Principles of Sustainable Agriculture
Subject: Food Catchments
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 08 Apr 1995 09:37:39 WST
From: Warwick Rowell
To: sustag@beta.tricity.wsu.edu
"The linguistics is fun, mais une grande 'erring rouge!
The major point of interest here is examining systems to define the
conditions where food starts moving one way rather than the other.
A colleague has suggested that the social catchment is at least as
important as the geographical/physical one in determining landcare
involvement.
It could be as simple as the fact that there is a bootmaker in the
town ten miles further away, that leads to the social habit of
shopping there rather than closer to home, and so more suppliers set
up there, and then the wholesaler, etc.
We're finding the reverse here in the SW of WA, where little country
towns that were established a day's horse and cart ride apart have been
diminishing in function and population ever since the car came on
the scene.
The resurgence of interest in homesteading and permaculture is
perhaps their brightest light on the horizon for many years.
Many resettlers are adopting the strategy of buying their lot in town,
or on the edge, where the infrastructure (technical and social) is already
established.
Barraba, about 80 kms north of Tamworth in NSW, went through a deliberate
renewal process, of canvassing town and hinterland people for the
facility they most resented going to Tamworth for. They then cleaned
up one of vacant shops, and advertised for in fact a bootmaker/saddler.
They came; husband, wife, two kids. A class size was viable again,
the teacher stayed, and so their little economy grew. This is a nice
alternative to the "sellout" to big industry. The key is to focus on
the really needed service. The hassle with many LETS schemes for
instance is that so many of the services offered are discretionary
or luxury items.
One of the major factors in sensible food catchments is the incredible
subsidies, actual and implicit, we are paying for transport. At the
moment our neighbourhood's food catchment is the world - there is fruit
from Israel, Phillipines, California, South America, etc in our
supermarket. Our expectations are unreal.
So the pragmatic task of meeting our food (and other) needs from as close
to home as we possibly can is also a major ethical and environmental and
economic stance we can pursue. This task underlies the academic exploration
of foodshed, food circle, food net, or whatever we want to call it.
Ethical:
depriving our local community of resources needed for its growth in pursuit
of a slightly higher return is systematically stupid.
Environmental:
Waste, energy, stupid criteria for breeding (shelf life, handling
ability) are all minimised.
Economic:
Economic success is more and more being seen as influenced by the recycling
of financial resources in an area. Economists have come up with a new
definition: resilience - the amount of local demand that is met by local
production.
The permaculture concept of zoning would be relevant to anybody managing
their food sources. As a permaculturist, I might design a system so:
I can meet my need for basic herbs, salads and green vegetables
within 10m of my back door.
I can meet my need for staple vegetables within 50m of my back door.
I can meet my need for most seasonal fruit within my neighbourhood.
I can meet my need for small meat within 50m of my back door.
I can meet my need for larger meats and milk within 1 km of my back
door. (usually by buying from someone else in the neighbourhood)
I can meet my occasional infrequent need for exotic herbs, spices, fruit
from the local shop.
I can meet my need for bulk grains through a CSA within x miles..
It goes further - "I will make the pragmatic, ethical decision that in
general I will invest x% in the future of my locality by being prepared to
pay that much more for anything I can buy cheaper elsewhere than in
my local community."
Wx
--
__________________________________________________________
| warwick.rowell@eepo.com.au |
| 20 Onslow Rd Shenton Pk 6008 Western Australia |
| Management Consultant Permaculture Designer |
|_"Helping Managers Learn"___"Helping Land Managers Learn"_|
From sustag@beta.tricity.wsu.eduMon Apr 10 15:15:32 1995
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 10:57:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)"
To: Principles of Sustainable Agriculture
Subject: Re: Local Food production (fwd)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 14:49:01 -0300
From: Alasdair McKay
To: "Tom Hodges (moderated newsgroup)"
Cc: Principles of Sustainable Agriculture
Subject: Re: Local Food production (fwd)
> Perhaps the idea was first explored in any detail by Jane Jacobs
> in her seminal book "Cities and the Wealth of Nations". Although
> she was talking about much more than food, as well. Foodsheds may be
> another name for bioregions? Certainly the focus of populations into
> communities would have started with basic foods, as much as scarce
> foods, such as salt, led to inter-regional trading, and commerce as
> such.
While it may be rather an academic point to bring up in the middle of what
is a discussion of great importance to the present day and to the future,
may I ask what is the basis for "certainty" in the identification of a
basic food supply as the focus which led to the development of
communities? In a hunting and gathering economy, there is the possibility
of developing communities for the more efficient pursuit of large prey
animals, but the gathering aspect may remain more efficient if communities
do not develop. Hunter-gatherers might rather have formed communities much
more on the focus of mutual defence than around that of basic food
production. Sedentary agrarian communities may be a better "bet" for
forming around a basic food supply, but I understand that there is at
least some speculation as to whether agrarian communities may have formed
initially more because of a desire to harvest grapes or grain for the
production of alcoholic beverages (which are not as easily come by if one
is always "on the move" ) and only realised the basic-food
aspect of agriculture as an accidental by-product of that activity.
Let it be clear that I do not put forward the above ideas as
"certainties" --- almost as little is certain in our knowledge of the
past as in our predictions of the future. :-)
What's the archeaological evidence - if any - on this point ?
Alasdair McKay
From eric.decker@canrem.com Tue Apr 11 05:23:47 EDT 1995
Article: 1196 of rec.food.preserving
Newsgroups: rec.food.preserving
Subject: RE: Future
From: eric.decker@canrem.com (Eric Decker)
Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!hearst.acc.Virginia.EDU!portal.gmu.edu!europa.chnt.gtegsc.com!news.sprintlink.net!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!torn!news.uunet.ca!uunet.ca!portnoy!canrem.com!eric.decker
Distribution: world
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References: <3lua45$fpl@news.csus.edu>
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 95 15:25:00 -0500
Organization: CRS Online (Toronto, Ontario)
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K > Message-ID: <3lua45$fpl@news.csus.edu>
K > NNTP-Posting-Host: kbond%@sfsuvax1.sfsu.edu
K > X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL1]
K > you see food consumption, food preserving in the next 20, 30 or 40 years?
K > Do you see any trends now that will continue?
World population continues to increase, fish population in the
oceans continues to decrease ... ten years ago I was of the opinion
overpopulation would lead to overfishing to extinction - we're almost
there. A large part of the world's population which to this point
has depended on fish for protein will have to switch to a vegetable
based food supply. This will put enormous pressure on arable land with
added conflict over such land.
We're heading toward more of a vegetable based society - even in the
decadent west. As air transportation systems become larger flying tree
ripened peaches from Chile to Toronto in January becomes a viable
proposition.
Bird's Eye is moving to fresh rather than frozen in a big way. This
is happening in spite of highly efficient freezing and storage
facilities, trucking. The frozen vegetable is enhanced with the
advanced microwave ovens of the 90s which cook frozen vegetables
very nicely. The move to fresh vegetables is driving the Bird's Eye
move - our local grocery stores are proof they are right. In my
immediate area are four large stores - I'm hard pressed to see
anybody buying in the frozen foods section while the fresh produce
section is usually overcrowded.
The explosion in the number of stand alone fresh fruit and vegetable
stores which compete head on with the grocery chains is additional
evidence.
Chile and South Africa today, Australia will supply my table in a
few years.
For those folks who have the time and effort, food preserving will
see a comeback. It's happening already. 10 years ago, one could find
canning supplies in only the old fashioned retailer. Today we see
canning supplies sold year round in department stores and in boutique
kitchen suppliers in fancy marble covered shopping malls.
If I can't have it fresh, I'd like to have it on my pantry shelf
where I know what went into it. The boomers are re-inventing the food
chain as they creep towards old age.
Last comment on fish .....
Fish farming will see exponential growth in the decades ahead. It
will be supplied fresh to the markets. Fish is often considered to be
a healthy food choice, we may yet eat as much fish as our
great-grandparents did but we'll not consume the mountains of salt
they did. Already we have better health for passing up the salt.
In the end, it isn't oil that is the most strategic commodity.
---------
Eric
11:23:31 04-06-1995
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